1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a construction of a riding mower comprising caster-type right and left front wheels and driven-type right and left rear wheels, wherein a mower deck is mounted between the front and rear wheels so as to be capable of being lifted up and down.
2. Description of the Related Art
A riding mower having right and left independent hydrostatic transmissions (HSTs), capable of operating a pair of right and left steering levers in the back-and-forth direction to individually actuate these hydrostatic transmissions (HSTs) to advance or retract the body or reversing one to perform an on-the-spot ground turn is known in the art.
In such a riding mower, a brake pedal to stop the body and a brake operation member for parking are provided at separate positions. For a parking operation, an operator must perform a parking operation while letting go of the steering levers. In addition, the above-described riding mower is, as disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-270652, structured so that power from an engine is distributed right and left via a power distribution apparatus and the distributed power is transmitted to drive wheels via right and left hydrostatic transmissions (HSTs), and to a mower, power is transmitted through a PTO shaft protruded forward from a power distributing portion. However, this PTO shaft exists at the center in the right and left direction of the body, and in particular, when a mower deck of a three cutting blade-type is mounted, the right-and-left-balance of the body is hindered since the exhaust side is heavy. In addition, the body may be inclined toward the exhaust side, which hinders straight traveling even when a straight advance of the body is intended.
Furthermore, a mowing height adjusting mechanism of a riding mower has been provided in a link portion for coupling a mower deck as shown in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H06-113645. However, when changing the mowing height, the trouble of having to get off of the vehicle body each time for a change and perform a change operation of a height adjuster has been necessary.